Ryan Sklover, 10, left, and Ryan Kenny, 8, look on during the R2 Spelling Bee benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Northeast Elementary School PTO at the school in Stamford on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. The spellling bee was inspired by Sklover and Kenny who have juvenile diabetes.
Photo: Jason Rearick

Judges from left Nancy Freedman, Brittany Bautista and Jackie Heftman watch students participate in the R2 Spelling Bee benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Northeast Elementary School PTO at the school in Stamford on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013.
Photo: Jason Rearick

Tessa Mannella looks to the judges to see if she got the spelling of a word correct during the R2 Spelling Bee benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Northeast Elementary School PTO at the school in Stamford on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013.
Photo: Jason Rearick

Gordon misspelled "palate" and "personage," but ended up winning the competition against Isabella Nuzzo by correctly spelling "taboo." They went head-to-head for 17 words, with Gordon getting frustrated at times and even wiping away tears.

When asked if he nervous about being on stage, Gordon replied, "To be honest with you, my legs were shaking."

But Gordon said he was well prepared for the R2 Spelling Bee, which will give proceeds to the Northeast PTO and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He said he put words on index cards, brought them to school and practiced throughout the day.

"And when I got home, my dad would quiz me," he said.

The fourth-grade class winner was Christian Rubino Chuckas, who won with "obliterate," while the third-grade class winner was Arjun Batra, who won with "mislead." All three students won a Wii home video game system.

This is the first year of the R2 Spelling Bee, which was inspired by two Northeast Elementary students who are both named Ryan and have Type 1 diabetes.

The event seeks to provide a fun and educational experience for elementary school students, as well as the adult team competitors who took the stage afterward. It's also a way to educate children and adults about juvenile diabetes and to raise money for further research and a cure.

Fifth-grader Ryan Sklover said she was diagnosed with the disease about a year ago, but has been handling it well. "It's not that hard for me because I'm really on top of it," she said.

Ryan said she was receiving about six shots a day, then changed over to an insulin pump and receives just one shot every three days. The pump is connected to her right hip.

Third-grader Ryan Kenny was diagnosed with the disease when he was just 18 months old.

"I have an insulin pump in my leg and I change it every two days," he said.

His mother, Liz Kenny, an event organizer, said the insulin pumps help children to better control their diabetes. She said they get low levels of insulin throughout the day and bursts of insulin at mealtimes.

"It's like a little computer," she said. "It calculates the insulin. It's precise and easy to manage."

Teachers, parents, relatives and other adults in the community were eligible to compete, according to Andy Sklover, Ryan's father and the co-organizer.

"We have nine teams registered, and would like to have 12 or more," he said before the event.

Adult teams pay a $300 registration fee, which can be supported by sponsors. Teams elect a captain, create a name and sport team uniforms or T-shirts at the competition.

"Some moms are a little nervous about being on stage and embarrassing themselves," Liz Kenny said. "But it's all in fun, and for a good cause."

Kenny, a member of the "Awesome Moms" team, said adults at least get to work in a team, unlike the children, who were on stage alone.

Karen Pritchard, who was also on an adult team, said she wasn't nervous about the competition. "No, I was born for the stage," she joked.

On a serious note, Pritchard, who has a child at the school, said she was happy to be involved with the cause. "This is something so new and so great," she said.

Planning for the competition began in October with a fund-raising goal of $5,000. Businesses were asked to support with advertising, displaying a company banner or becoming a sponsor.

Organized and administered by Northeast parent volunteers and teachers, the R2 Spelling Bee kicked off in December with students in grades 3 to 5 practicing spelling words in mock competitions. One student from each classroom became a finalist and advanced to the final competition.

All finalists were given T-shirts and certificates. Both students and adult competitors obtain sponsors, who will pledge a dollar amount for each word spelled correctly.

"We are fostering an appreciation for a diminishing skill set, while supporting a worthy cause," Sklover said. "Even in these early classroom competitions, we see kids becoming more and more enthusiastic about learning new vocabulary words."

"Any program or activity which reviews and reinforces vocabulary will greatly contribute to improving fluency when reading," Stevenson said. "Reading is words and the more experiences students have learning and using words, the more they will enjoy reading."